Reenacting.
It’s a pretty fun hobby, and quite frankly, I’m addicted to it.
I’ve been reenacting Civil War battles for over three years now, and in that time, I have probably spent $3,000 on uniforms, gear, hats, and weapons, basically evaporating my wallet.
However, reenacting has given me so many new experiences, and taught me so much more history
For example the American Civil War — the main war I reenact — you learn so much just by being around so many historians that you start to talk like a person from the 1860s.
You also get to see some of your closest friends who live far away.
Reenacting has allowed me to meet the best people I know. These people are some of the kindest, most nicest people ever — no matter how old or young they are — they always just want to make sure you have a fun time.

My good friend Maxwell is from Gainesville, Florida, and I am only able to talk to him through the internet. Seeing him is such a blessing. The jokes we make together, and the experiences we have are hilarious.
I remember the first time we reenacted together, we were sharing a small tent, and in the middle of the night, I woke up and heard him snoring the American Civil War song “Old Folks at Home.”
The battles themselves are amazing, too. You have no clue what you are doing because of the adrenaline, you can hardly see what’s in front of you from all the smoke, and you have no clue when to fall down and play dead. By the end, you just end up laughing.
Reenacting also has shown me how everything worked back then, from how soldiers fed themselves on hardtack and salted pork at the old camp ground, to being inside a tank and banging your head on everything.
I still remember my first reenactment. It was in Pennsylvania, and I was reenacting the second World War as a US Army Combat Engineer. Our main goal as engineers is to build defenses and roads, disarm landmines, and clear ways with explosives.
At this reenactment, supper was being served with our Lieutenant and Captain making fried spam and chili dogs. While everyone else was assembling their chili dogs, I had trouble opening mine. In the process, I ended up tearing four hot dog buns in half, not knowing they were upside down.
Then the next day, I was sitting on my cot I was given, fixing my shoe. Now, this cot has survived World War II, the Korean War, and possibly the Vietnam War.
Yet in the blink of an eye, I had torn a giant hole straight through it sending me crashing to the ground like some cartoon.
I was given the nickname “The bun ripper” after these incidents.
Reenacting, however, is slowly disappearing. It’s incredibly hard to find a reenactment near Texarkana. When you are able to find one, no one is there and the only people reenacting are a bunch of regiments and units from different theaters.
It’s kinda sad to think about since so many battles were fought, and history was made in these states such as the Battle of Pea Ridge in Northern Arkansas, and the Battle of Mansfield in Northern Louisiana.
Reenacting still lives on with people traveling across the country yearly to participate in reenactments and experience what their ancestors went through all those years ago — even if it is just all pretend.